The original game set a very high bar, yet Supergiant has somehow managed to surpass it with this one. Despite this game still being in early access, it already contains more content than the first one and has so much polish that you’re only reminded it’s an unfinished game once you encounter missing sprites/models or reach the end of the available (still lengthy!) areas.
It’s insane how Supergiant announced that the EA for this game would contain “at least” as much content as the EA for the original game – which was only the first two areas – and then just shadowdropped an even bigger game with SIX complete areas, a new pact of punishment for increased difficulty, and an all new Chaos challenge mode on top of it all. Add on the fated list, brewable concoctions, the arcana, weapon aspects, tool upgrades, relationship building, and keepsakes, and you’ll find yourself in no shortage of unlockables to work towards even after finishing your first run. Seriously, the amount of available content is crazy for an EA.
The new combat takes some getting used to, but it’s definitely an upgrade from the first game. The addition of omega moves and sprinting have expanded the basic moveset to make fights more interesting. The fights themselves are more bullet-hellish, forcing the player to play defensively as well as offensively (whereas it was easy to go through the first game with little to no defense). There’s definitely a difficulty spike in this game, but I think that’s to be expected both narratively and in terms of this being a sequel for players already familiar with the first game.
Perhaps the most iconic parts of the first game come back stronger than ever in this one: the art and music. We have, once again, been blessed with a bisexual paradise in terms of character design, and the music is once again a feast for the ears.
The handful of flaws I had at launch have already been addressed with the latest patch. I thought the dash felt slightly delayed, that gathering resources was too grindy, and that the inability to cancel out of some animations was annoying, but all of these things have since been fixed. These were all common complaints, showing how receptive Supergiant is to community feedback and how quickly they work to improve things. By the full release, I’m confident that anyone who currently has misgivings about the game will be able to hold it in either equal or higher regards to the first one.
It’s insane how Supergiant announced that the EA for this game would contain “at least” as much content as the EA for the original game – which was only the first two areas – and then just shadowdropped an even bigger game with SIX complete areas, a new pact of punishment for increased difficulty, and an all new Chaos challenge mode on top of it all. Add on the fated list, brewable concoctions, the arcana, weapon aspects, tool upgrades, relationship building, and keepsakes, and you’ll find yourself in no shortage of unlockables to work towards even after finishing your first run. Seriously, the amount of available content is crazy for an EA.
The new combat takes some getting used to, but it’s definitely an upgrade from the first game. The addition of omega moves and sprinting have expanded the basic moveset to make fights more interesting. The fights themselves are more bullet-hellish, forcing the player to play defensively as well as offensively (whereas it was easy to go through the first game with little to no defense). There’s definitely a difficulty spike in this game, but I think that’s to be expected both narratively and in terms of this being a sequel for players already familiar with the first game.
Perhaps the most iconic parts of the first game come back stronger than ever in this one: the art and music. We have, once again, been blessed with a bisexual paradise in terms of character design, and the music is once again a feast for the ears.
The handful of flaws I had at launch have already been addressed with the latest patch. I thought the dash felt slightly delayed, that gathering resources was too grindy, and that the inability to cancel out of some animations was annoying, but all of these things have since been fixed. These were all common complaints, showing how receptive Supergiant is to community feedback and how quickly they work to improve things. By the full release, I’m confident that anyone who currently has misgivings about the game will be able to hold it in either equal or higher regards to the first one.